adaptive reuse and renovation project transforms cavernous warehouse into open, bright space perfect for offices, created with generative ai

Adaptive Reuse Scorecard released to help developers assess project viability

Lamar Johnson Collaborative announced the debut of the firm’s Adaptive Reuse Scorecard, a proprietary methodology to quickly analyze the viability of converting buildings to other uses.

Contractors

Fast-tracking construction projects offers both risk and reward

Understanding both the rewards and risk of fast-tracking a project can help owners, architects, engineers, and contractors maximize the benefits of this strategy and can bring great reward on all fronts when managed properly.

Steel Buildings

AISC releases SpeedCore design guide for building concrete-filled composite steel plate shear wall core systems

The American Institute of Steel Construction has released Design Guide 38, SpeedCore Systems for Steel Structures. The document pertains to the nonproprietary concrete-filled composite steel plate shear wall core system that “shaved a whopping 10 months off the erection schedule of Seattle’s 58-story Rainier Square,” according to AISC.

Projects

A scalable EV charging solution

Resembling a fueling station, VersiCharge XL—a new electric vehicle (EV) charging concept structure—can charge large numbers of EVs in outdoor areas ranging from small office building parking lots to last-mile logistics hubs to stadium parking lots.

Sep 22, 2010

Satellier, Potential + Semac close investment deal

Satellier, a world leader in providing CAD and Building Information Modeling (BIM) outsourced services to the architecture, engineering and construction industry, announces a strategic minority investment from India-based top engineering firm Potential + Semac, ushering in the next evolution of the global architecture support industry.

Sep 21, 2010

Turner Building Cost Index Unchanged From Second Quarter 2010 and 13.16% below its 2008 Peak

New York, N.Y., August 30, 2010 – Turner Construction Company announced that the Third Quarter 2010…

Aug 11, 2010

Average annual pay increases at A/E/P firms continue to rise in 2010

Despite the economic challenges that many architecture, engineering, planning(A/E/P) & environmental consulting firms have faced in recent years, a large majority of firms continue to include pay increases for their staff in their annual budgets, according to a new report released by ZweigWhite. According to ZweigWhite's 2010 Policies, Procedures, and Benefits Survey of Architecture, Engineering, Planning & Environmental Consulting Firms, the average pay increase that A/E/P firms project that they will provide in 2010 has increased from 2009. ZweigWhite, March 2

Aug 11, 2010

Only four out of 337 cities added construction jobs in 2009

Construction employment grew in only four out of 337 metropolitan areas in 2009 as spending on construction projects dropped by $100 billion in December to a six-year low of $903 billion, according to a new analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of federal figures released recently.

Aug 11, 2010

ULI: 'Old Normal' will not be a part of the housing recovery

As the U.S. economy recovers, emerging trends in demographics and consumer behavior will become major drivers of new housing opportunities, resulting in a residential market vastly different from the one that existed prior to the recession, according to Housing in America: The Next Decade, a new research paper authored by John K. McIlwain, senior resident fellow, Urban Land Institute/J. Ronald Terwilliger Chair for Housing.

Aug 11, 2010

Zero Energy Buildings + Homes' Call for Editorial Contributions & Contributors

BD+C will publish its 8th Annual White Paper on Green Buildings, "Zero Energy Buildings + Homes," in November-and you can contribute to it. We're looking for highly qualified experts (or teams of experts) to write individual chapters (about 2,000-3,000 words). We've started the outline here, but we'd like your suggestions about additional chapters. What did we miss? Help us shape this important report.

Aug 11, 2010

Billings increase less than a point in December, still in negative territory

The American Institute of Architects reported the December Architecture Billings Index rating was 43.4, up slightly from 42.8 in November. The score indicates a continued decline in demand for design services (any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings). AIA Chief Economist Kermit Baker said the inability to get financing is still the main roadblock to recovery.

Aug 11, 2010

FMI: 2009 was the bottom for residential, non-residential construction still in freefall

While 2009 was likely the bottom in terms of percentage decline, 2010 will be the bottom in terms of dollar volume for non-residential construction, according to market analysts at consulting firm FMI. Residential construction is expected to begin recovering in 2010. The economy may show some signs of improving, but it is just the beginning of the downfall for nonresidential construction.

Aug 11, 2010

Another steep decline in nonresidential construction activity projected for 2010

Despite signs that the overall U.S. economy is beginning to improve, nonresidential construction spending is expected to decrease by 13.4% in 2010 with a marginal increase of 1.8% in 2011 in inflation adjusted terms, according the American Institute of Architects' Consensus Construction Forecast. Commercial and industrial projects will continue to see the most significant decrease in activity. Thanks, in part, to federal stimulus spending, institutional building categories will fare better over the new year. BD+C, January 6

Aug 11, 2010

Report: Most data centers are too cold

A recent study (PDF) by server and computing giants shows that data centers are wasting energy-and money-by over-cooling their servers, according to a story in The Register.